Apple has given little attention to updating the app switcher in its iOS since its introduction in iOS 4, so interface designer @Sentry_NC has tried his hand at developing a new concept for fast app switching in iOS.

In October, he introduced a mockup of iOS app switcher on The Verge forum, which takes advantage of the elongated screen on the iPhone 5 and provides easy access to app management tools and settings.

Along with the iPad mini, Apple will release another new iPad model on November 2 – four-generation iPad. The embargo on reviews has been lifted, but they include no real surprises. The iPad 4 launched only seven months after the iPad 3 release.

A pair of images published by Apple.pro on Sunday reportedly demonstrates two Lightning dock connectors, one for Apple's much-rumored iPad mini and another bound for the fourth-generation 9.7-inch iPad. The connector is more compact than the current third-generation iPad's 30-pin flex cable. Unfortunately, the image's poor quality doesn’t allow assessing the connectors in detail.

AppleInsider and 9to5Mac independently posted a list of 24 different model numbers said to be for Apple's "iPad mini" scheduled for introduction at a media event next Tuesday.

According to the list, the iPad Mini will be available in four basic device variants P101, P103, P105, and P107
that presumably correspond to different hardware models (Wifi, 3G, LTE, etc). Each of those four variants is available in three different flavors designated "GOOD", "BETTER", and "BEST" - these ones refer to three different capacities (anything between 8 and 64 Gb). The A/B designations would continue to refer to two color options.

Apple seems to be adding the final touches on the revamped App Store ahead of the iOS 6 public release this week. As of today, a new page promotes Apple’s own free apps, offering an easy way for first-time users to “get the most out of” their device.

Today Apple introduced the new iPhone 5. It has a new design, however it looks a bit like tall iPhone 4S.

It is 18% thinner than the 4S, just 7.6mm. It's even 20% percent lighter at 112 grams. The in-cell retina display is 4-inch with 1136 x 640 resolution. Apple says new iPhone 5 has a better color saturation with full sRGB rendering. That new longer screen allows for an extra set of icons to be displayed on the home screen, and first party apps have already been tweaked to take advantage of additional pixels. The tweaked ratio puts the iPhone 5 display closer to 16:9, but it's not quite there.

Apple will reportedly make at least minor changes to their three current iPod lines. 9to5Mac shares some details on Apple's apparent plans for updated iPods reportedly set to be introduced alongside the iPhone 5 at next Wednesday's media event.

- iPod shuffle: The biggest change perhaps being the availability of eight different colors compared to the five color options on the current model. The current $49 pricing is likely to remain in effect, but it is unclear if the current 2 GB capacity will carry over to the new models.

Analyst from KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo has published a new research sharing his expectations on Apple’s product releases for the 2012. He notes that delays in some components have forced the company in a tight timeline which may impact product sales in the short term. These delays have affected several Apple’s products, including the updated iMac and rumored iPad mini.

New images thought to be of the front assembly for Apple's next-generation iPhone were found on Sunday by Chinese site Apple.pro and posted to a Photobucket account that previously posted photos of measurements showing that the third-generation iPad would be thicker than the iPad 2, as well as the first leaked photo of the next-generation iPhone front panel in white.

The Loop today shared some new data on the performance of Apple’s retail chain.

Following the two openings of Canadian retail stores this weekend in Coquitlam, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Apple currently owns 375 stores worldwide, and the company notes that its retail stores have seen about 300 million visitors thus far this year. This means that each store have seen roughly 3500 customers per day. The Loop reports:

Nitrous is a new tweak from Joe Jordan that unlocks the Nitro Javascript engine to give third party iPhone apps like Google Chrome, Twitter and others a speed boost.

The Nitro JavaScript engine is an advanced bytecode JavaScript engine that makes web browsing fast. It powers Safari on OS X and iOS. Unfortunately Nitro is only available to Apple apps such as Safari and iBooks. Nitrous tweak lets you grant this access to other apps.

After Apple released Podcasts app last month, many users have complained about crashes, bugs and other problems with the app. All Things D reports that an update for the app should appear later today:

“Podcasts users take note: Apple has been hard at work tweaking the app to fix the problems that currently plague it and sources say the company expects to post an update to it this afternoon that should vastly improve it”.